Development of Duck Viral Hepatitis Attenuated Vaccine

YH Shih*, CH Tseng, AP Hsu, RS Chen

Animal Health Research Institute, Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan

Abstract

We have developed a duck viral hepatitis attenuated vaccine to control duck viral hepatitis in domestic duck farms. Antibody titers reached significant levels 10 days post DHAV-1 vaccination, indicating that the vaccine was capable of eliciting effective responses in ducks. The vaccine was found safe with 80% protection efficiency 4 to 6 days post-immunization. Over 2 months post vaccination, the antibody titers from treated domestic ducks were measured to be at or above levels mandated by national animal health standards. This vaccine therefore has been cleared for application on domestic ducks for controlling duck viral hepatitis.

Keywords: Duck hepatitis A virus, vaccine